Preacher's
Prayer Stirs Protest in Kansas Legislature
This
prayer was given in the Kansas House in Topeka on January 23,
1996 by Joe Wright, who is the pastor of Central Christian Church
in Wichita and was guest chaplain that day. He prayed a prayer
of repentance that was written by Bob Russell, pastor of Southeast
Christian Church in Louisville, Kentucky
Heavenly
Father,
We come
before You today to ask Your Forgiveness and seek Your direction
and guidance. We know Your Word says, ''Woe to those who call
evil good,'' but that's exactly what we have done. We have lost
our Spiritual equilibrium and inverted our values. We confess
that; we have ridiculed the absolute truth of Your Word and
called it pluralism; We have worshipped other gods and called
it multiculturalism; We have endorsed perversion and called
it an alternative lifestyle; We have exploited the poor and
called it the lottery; We have neglected the needy and called
it self preservation; We have rewarded laziness and called it
welfare; We have killed our unborn and called it choice; We
have shot abortionists and called it justifiable; We have neglected
to discipline our children and called it building self-esteem;
We have abused power and called it political savvy; We have
coveted our neighbor's possessions and called it ambition; We
have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called
it freedom of expression; We have ridiculed the time-honored
values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment. Search
us, O God, and know our hearts today; try us and see if there
be some wicked way in us; cleanse us from every sin and set
us free. Guide and bless these men and women who have been sent
here by the people of this state and who have been ordained
by You, to govern this great state of Kansas. Grant them your
wisdom to rule and may their decisions direct us to the center
of Your Will.
I ask
in in the name of your Son, The Living Savior, Jesus Christ.
Amen
The response
was immediate. A number of legislators walked out during the
prayer in protest. In 6 short weeks, Central Christian Church,
where Rev. Wright is pastor, logged more than 5,000 phone calls
with only 47 of those calls responding negatively. The church
is now receiving international requests for copies of this prayer
from India, Africa, and Korea.
Commentator Paul Harvey aired this prayer on "The Rest
of the Story" on the radio and received a larger response
to this program than any other he has ever aired.
True.
According to an article in the "Kansas
City Star" from January 24, 1996, his prayer did stir controversy
and one member of the legislative body walked out. Others criticized
the prayer. The controversy didn't end there. Later that year
in the Colorado House, Republican representative Mark Paschall
angered lawmakers by using Joe Wright's prayer as the invocation.
Some members there also walked out in protest. Paul
Harvey did air the story and the prayer. He got such a large
response that a phone number was set up to handle the calls.
He's aired it a couple more times since.
